THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

At the Medaeng prison in Surabaya I read something written on a little monument, “Rencanakan kerjamu. Kerjakan rencanamu.” (Plan what you will do. Do what you have planned.) No doubt the words are there to remind the inmates to live a productive life. It also spoke to me, though. It’s one thing to make a plan; it’s another thing to actually carry it out.

Almost every good thing comes out of a good planning. Rarely does something good come out of a poor or haphazard planning. The Book of Proverbs is replete with so many admonishments to plan and prepare well. Just like the legendary coach of UCLA basketball, John Wooden, once said, “Failure to prepare is prepare to fail.”

There is something else we should know. It is not about planning well or poorly; it is about having no plan. And, the reason we have no plan is because we simply have no plan. Not running out of plan, just pure and simple no plan! But unbeknownst to us, God has a plan that involves us in it. And, He wants us to say yes to His plan.

A month before I arrived, a student at the seminary where I teach passed away. And, while I was there, an alumna of the seminary died suddenly. In the morning she was admitted to the hospital, later that evening she passed away. Neither planned to die, but God had made that plan long ago, even long before they’re born.

Accidents, serious illnesses, death are some of the things we can’t really plan and prepare for. Even if we could, when that happens, we would still feel unprepared for. But, because it has been God’s plan all along, He must have prepared it for us. So, in this we take comfort: We can’t plan or prepare for all, but God can and He has.

Pastor Paul